


Don't Blink, No I Don't Want To Miss It

by DavidRoseBrewer



Category: Julie and The Phantoms (TV)
Genre: Episode: s01e09 Stand Tall, Family Bonding, Family Feels, Found Family, Gen, Happy Ending, M/M, Past Alex Mercer/Luke Patterson (Julie and The Phantoms), Sort Of, Unsaid Emily, stand tall, the pattersons reunite, there's no explicit romance here, you can choose if alex and luke broke up or not
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-12-20
Updated: 2020-12-20
Packaged: 2021-03-10 20:22:01
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,644
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28203054
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/DavidRoseBrewer/pseuds/DavidRoseBrewer
Summary: The headline mentioned a hologram band, something Mitch had no interest in, and he was about to close the window when he caught sight of the picture underneath the headline. He recognised the girl, it was the same one who had come to their house clutching the lyrics written by Luke.Sure enough, when he looked closer, he saw the name Julie Molina written underneath the photo. With a quick scan of the opening paragraph, he learned that Julie was in a hologram band (whatever that actually was) and that they were playing a gig at The Orpheum that night.“Hey, Emily.” Mitch called out to his wife, who was busy in the kitchen. “How do you feel about going out tonight?”ORTrevor Wilson wasn't the only familiar face in the audience during that Stand Tall performance. Mitch and Emily Patterson buy tickets to support Julie after what she did for them, not knowing who the Phantoms are.
Relationships: Alex Mercer/Luke Patterson (Julie and The Phantoms), Emily Patterson & Luke Patterson & Mitch Patterson (Julie and The Phantoms), Emily Patterson & Luke Patterson (Julie and The Phantoms), Emily Patterson & Mitch Patterson (Julie and The Phantoms), Luke Patterson & Mitch Patterson (Julie and The Phantoms)
Comments: 16
Kudos: 230
Collections: Kelly's Picks





	Don't Blink, No I Don't Want To Miss It

**Author's Note:**

> Ahhhhhhhhh. 
> 
> Okay so this happened in pretty much one go. I have proofread it but I apologise in advance for any errors or pacing issues, my Patterson family feels definitely got the better of me here.
> 
> This came about as a result of watching Unsaid Emily and then Stand Tall and wondering what would happen if you connected the two somehow. Also I figured that JATP are going to be big enough that Mitch and Emily are going to find out about them at some point so I guess it's an exploration of that idea too. 
> 
> Alex and Luke were together in the 90s in this fic but I think I've left it vague enough that you can decide for yourself whether they're still together in 2020, or whether you prefer the canon version of events with Luke and Julie which makes Alex/Luke exes. Either works!

It had been purely by accident that Mitch stumbled across the article about the  _ Julie and the Phantoms  _ video that was trending online. He’d been trying to open the story about the new construction project in their neighbourhood but had accidentally clicked on the one next to it instead.

The headline mentioned a hologram band, something he had no interest in, and he was about to close the window when he caught sight of the picture underneath the headline. He recognised the girl, it was the same one who had come to their house clutching the lyrics written by Luke.

Sure enough, when he looked closer, he saw the name Julie Molina written underneath the photo. With a quick scan of the opening paragraph, he learned that Julie was in a hologram band (whatever that actually was) and that they were playing a gig at The Orpheum that night.

“Hey, Emily.” Mitch called out to his wife, who was busy in the kitchen. “How do you feel about going out tonight?” 

After a quick discussion, it was decided that they would go down to The Orpheum to watch Julie’s band play as a thank you to her for what she had done for them. After years of torturing themselves, having those lyrics had been a source of comfort to them. They had assured them that they hadn’t pushed their son away entirely. Even if that did make his death all the more painful, with the idea that reconciliation would have been possible if fate hadn’t snatched him away so soon. 

With that decided, Mitch closed the page and looked up the phone number for The Orpheum’s ticket office, not bothering to scroll down to see the picture of the full Julie and the Phantoms line up.

-x-

Live music had never been the Pattersons’ thing. It wasn’t that Emily and Mitch didn’t like music, it was just that their interests lay elsewhere. They liked reading, puzzle games, hiking and quiet afternoons reading the newspaper together. So quite where Luke had gotten his passion from, they had no idea.

Not supporting Luke with his music was their biggest regret, hands down. If they had shown him more support then maybe he would have made different choices, have been in a different place, and wouldn’t have been gone so soon. Maybe they’d even be on their way to see him perform live instead of Julie.

They hadn’t meant to push him so far, they only wanted the best for him. It didn’t seem unreasonable to want him to finish school, for him to get good grades and stay out of trouble. That was what every parent wanted for their child, wasn’t it? So why were they made out to be the villains? That was probably to do with who Luke was. He was passionate, headstrong and determined. When he wanted something, he really went for it. Like that time when he was eight and he decided he wanted to take up karate and had progressed by two belts within a month.

But nothing, absolutely nothing, had compared to when they’d gifted him a guitar for his tenth birthday. 

The second the wrapping paper had come off, Luke fell head over heels in love with music. He spent every waking second playing the guitar or scribbling in his notebook. Hell, they’d even find parts of music scrawled onto the back of their mail where Luke had grabbed the first bit of paper he could find to get his music written down. 

Over the years his guitar collection grew, both through presents but also from Luke’s own money. Every bit of his allowance and any birthday or Christmas money seemed to go on new instruments. By the time he was fourteen, he had at least two acoustic guitars and three electric ones. Plus there were the amps and everything else that went along with it.

It was almost a relief when he announced one day that he was forming a band with his friends and that Bobby’s parents were allowing them to use their garage to rehearse in. Most of Luke’s instruments and all of the associated clutter vanished, although it also meant their son went with them.

Whilst the lack of mess was appreciated, they hadn’t accounted for the fact that Luke’s presence at home would plummet as he spent as much time as possible with his friends playing music. It wasn’t like they didn’t like his bandmates. They had known Alex, Reggie and Bobby for years, the boys had grown up together in school. 

They were all nice kids, but they were distractions. Distractions from Luke’s schoolwork, from his future. If he was going to have any kind of chance at life, he needed to graduate high school. Plus Alex turned out to be a whole new kind of distraction when Luke appeared one day, awkward and blushing, and told them he was dating his bandmate.

They’d already heard through the school’s vicious gossip mill that Alex was gay. From the stories they’d heard, the Mercers hadn’t taken that news well and had practically disowned their son. So whilst they were surprised to hear Luke was interested in boys too, Mitch and Emily made sure to welcome the relationship with open arms, showering both of them with support to make up for the judgement they got from everyone else.

Unfortunately, that support wasn’t enough to fix the cracks that were already starting to show elsewhere. The fights got louder and longer with each passing report card. Emily always told herself that she would support Luke and the band as soon as he graduated high school. She just didn’t want her son to drop out and find himself in a rut he couldn’t get out of. Maybe she should have told Luke that, and maybe he would have been more willing to compromise instead of just shutting her out.

-x-

“Was this a mistake?” Emily asked, nervously pulling at her sleeve as they stood amongst the crowd waiting for the band to appear. They were positioned near the back of the room, trying to blend in with everyone else.

“Well we’re here now, we might as well stay for at least the first song.” Mitch shrugged, glancing around the venue. “It’s weird to think that this is where the boys were meant to be, all those years ago.” 

Luke had run away from home by the time the Sunset Curve Orpheum gig had come around, but the police had filled them in on the facts. They’d told them that the boys were due to be playing a gig here but had never made it to the stage. Today was the first time that either Emily or Mitch had stepped foot inside the place. 

“There are so many people here. Do you think the boys would have had this many?” Emily asked, looking around the crowded room. It was certainly more than she would have anticipated turning out to watch Luke and his friends play. But the newspapers at the time had said the gig was sold out, so it seemed she may have underestimated the band’s popularity.

“Maybe.” Mitch agreed. “A small part of me is going to watch this and pretend it’s Luke up there, getting what he always wanted.” He admitted, swallowing the lump that had built up in his throat.

“Me too.” Emily agreed, looking towards the stage as the lights dimmed. “Oh look, there she is.” She smiled softly as she watched Julie walk onto the stage. 

The music started and the two fell into silence, taking in the music and the atmosphere in the room. Everyone was smiling or swaying, enjoying the performance happening in front of them. There were even cheers as Julie seemed to kick into a higher gear. It was making Emily emotional already, and she was holding back tears at the thought of her own boy being given such a warm reception. Why hadn’t she made the effort to go to at least one Sunset Curve gig? 

“She’s got a lovely voice.” Emily heard Mitch say and she hummed in agreement, unable to form any other kind of response right now.

There was nothing in the world that could have possibly prepared either of the Pattersons for what was going to come next. With a whoosh and a flash of light, there was suddenly a drum kit on stage. 

“Oh right, it said she has a hologram band.” Mitch suddenly remembered, having temporarily forgotten that detail.

Emily could barely hear him though because her eyes were completely and utterly transfixed on the boy sat behind the drums. It had been 25 years since she’d seen him, but she would recognise that mop of blonde hair anywhere. “Mitch, that looks just like Alex.” She gasped. 

Before she had a chance to even think that through, there was a second whoosh and a third figure appeared on stage holding a bass guitar. It was a bass player with a cheeky glint in his eye and an infectious smile to match.

“And that looks like Reggie.” Mitch breathed, looking down as Emily grabbed onto his forearm in surprise. 

They looked at each other, before staring back at the stage. If they knew anything about Sunset Curve, it was that they were damn inseparable. So if Alex and Reggie were around, that could only mean one thing. 

Sure enough, there was a third burst of light. This one flickered and faltered, sending Emily’s nerves skyrocketing. She couldn’t even believe what she was seeing in the first place. There were only two things convincing her that this was reality and not some crazy dream. The first was that she had already tried pinching herself. The second was that Mitch was here experiencing the exact same thing that she was. 

They both held their breath, watching the third light continue to flicker. With a sudden burst of light and sound, Luke appeared alongside the rest of the band. Emily’s legs all but gave out, clutching onto Mitch for dear life. There in front of them, singing his heart out, was their son.

It had been 25 years but he looked like he did on the day he left. He was young and fresh-faced. His hair was still far longer than Emily would have liked, but he looked perfect. Aside from the strange choice of clothes, he looked like Luke. 

Emily was speechless, staring at the stage in shock. The song progressed, the three boys clearly having a great time as they played their instruments. The crowd was cheering, jumping and dancing along. The crowd loved the band. Loved the boys. Loved her boys.

Emily watched Luke intently, tears streaming down her face. She just couldn’t believe that she could actually see him again after all these years. That she was actually getting the chance to see him play, to see his passion in action after all these years. It was bittersweet since it further added to her regret of not supporting him more, but she knew she needed to hold onto this moment for as long as she could.

“I forgot how good he was.” Mitch whispered, and Emily nodded in agreement. It had been all too easy to lose track of Luke’s raw talent amongst all of the arguments and teenage angst that had been floating around the Patterson house in 1995. 

They watched as Luke moved towards the front of the stage, sharing the microphone with Julie. All of a sudden the song was building to the end, and they were all grouped together. Alex even came out from behind his drumsets, and it warmed Emily’s heart to see him holding hands with Luke as the final notes played out. At least they’d had each other all this time.

With a final bow from the band, Mitch and Emily gasped as there was another whoosh and they all disappeared. They turned to stare at each other, unsure where to even start discussing what had just happened.

-x-

“What’s the site called?” Mitch asked, squinting at the computer screen in front of him. They had just gotten home from their trip to The Orpheum and they were in desperate need of more answers, of more Luke.

“Shannon says it’s called YouTube.” Emily replied, reading from her phone. She had texted her great-niece to ask where they could find videos of bands online. It wasn’t like her or Mitch knew how to navigate the internet (except for the local news website which was their homepage), so she’d turned to her sister’s thirteen-year-old granddaughter for help. 

It had hurt to see her family continue on without Luke. Her and Mitch never had any more children, but their family didn’t end with them. Her sister had a son, Justin, who was three years older than Luke. At thirty-seven, Justin was now married and had kids of his own. Emily had spent many hours sitting in a chair staring out at the garden, wondering if Luke would have gotten married, if he would have had a family of his own, if he would have given them grandkids. She’d always found herself concluding that he would have been too busy with his music, always chuckling softly at the idea of Luke being too married to the band to consider anyone else. Maybe that’s why he’d fallen for Alex, at least he wouldn’t be made to spend time away from the band if he dated someone within it. 

Either way, the young generation of the family was coming in handy as Shannon texted Emily more information about how to get to YouTube. Once Mitch had managed to get the site open, he tentatively typed  _ Julie and the Phantoms  _ into the search box and clicked the magnifying glass. 

“It looks like there’s a few here.” Mitch commented as he hovered over the first video. “This one says Edge of Great.” He added as he clicked on the thumbnail. Emily pulled up a chair, sitting down next to her husband as the video started playing. As with the performance they’d just watched at The Orpheum, it started with Julie singing by herself before the boys appeared with their instruments. 

“That looks more like a Luke outfit.” Emily chuckled as she took in the t-shirt, the beanie and the jeans with the wallet chain on. “If anything there’s a bit too much sleeve.” She joked fondly, her eyes once again tearing up as she watched the song unfold. 

“Em, look.” Mitch whispered once they had moved onto a video titled  _ Finally Free.  _ The quality had taken a tumble compared to the previous video, it presumably being recorded on a cell phone but that didn’t bother them. Even poor quality Luke was better than no Luke at all. 

“Oh my god.” Emily breathed. “He kept it.”

There, in Luke’s hands, was the electric blue guitar that they had bought him for Christmas in 1994. Their last one as a family before things had completely fallen apart. 

“Hey, are there any Sunset Curve videos on there?” Emily asked. She had never even thought to look before, but maybe she should have done this years ago. She held her breath, watching as Mitch typed the band name into the search bar before hitting the magnifying glass once again.

“It looks like there’s a few here.” Mitch commented as he scrutinised the search results. “There’s Now or Never, In Your Starlight, Late Last Night and Lakeside Reflection.” He listed off before clicking on the one that said Now or Never.

The quality had taken an even further tumble now that they were watching something that had clearly been filmed on a camcorder in the early 1990s before being somehow converted to a digital format to be added to YouTube. But neither of them could bring themselves to care.

In fact, despite the music being louder and brasher and even further from her usual music taste, Emily thought to herself that she might actually prefer the Sunset Curve videos to the Julie and the Phantoms ones. It was nothing against Julie, but there was something special about seeing the boys as they were back in the nineties. Luke was also featured more heavily in the Sunset Curve videos, singing the lead by himself. The same blue guitar also featured prominently, which warmed her chest.

They sat and watched all of the videos on repeat for hours, sharing their favourite Luke stories with each other even if they’d heard them all already hundreds of times. It was well into the early hours of the morning before they finally switched the computer off, making plans to get up early to go find Julie, and hopefully get the chance to see Luke again.

-x-

Luke had barely been able to keep up with the events of the night. It had been an entirely wild ride. From the events at Caleb’s club to playing The Orpheum to thinking they were about to die from the jolts to beating the curse and watching that damn stamp disappear into the air. Not only that, but they had learned that they could now touch Julie. It had been an emotional rollercoaster for all of the boys.

But Luke had something else going on, something he hadn’t yet told anyone about. It wasn’t that he was hiding it from them, he had just barely had the chance to process it with everything else that was going on. Earlier, as they’d taken their final bow, he had spotted two faces at the back of the crowd that he’d never expected to see. His mom and dad.

His jaw had dropped, but they’d all poofed out of sight seconds later before he had the chance to do or say anything about it. Now as he lay in the dark, staring up at the ceiling, their faces were all he could think about.

As he wracked his memory, he kept coming to the same conclusion, his parents had never seen Sunset Curve play. Sure he and the boys had played “shows” for his parents in their living room when they were younger but they’d never come to an actual gig, or even a rehearsal. 

But there they were, at the Julie and the Phantoms gig, looking like they’d just seen a ghost. Well, that was fair, technically they had just seen three. 

He lay on the couch, continuing to stare up at the ceiling. He’d spent all that time in the Patterson family kitchen over the last few weeks, just wishing that his parents could see him. That they could know he was there, that they could hear him one more time. Well now they had seen him, and he didn’t know how to deal with it.

Starting to feel overwhelmed, he poofed out of the studio and transported himself to the end of the pier. It always used to be one of his favourite places to sit and think. He would sit on the edge, his legs dangling off the side as the sea rolled in underneath him. 

A few seconds later he heard and felt someone appear next to him. He already knew who it was, there was only one person who knew about this spot and what it meant to him. 

“My parents were at the show, Alex.” Luke confessed, staring out at the pitch-black sky as the sound of the waves crashing filled the momentary silence. 

“What? You’re kidding?” Alex asked in surprise.

“Nope, I saw them just before we poofed out. They were standing at the back.” Luke explained, running a hand through his hair. 

“Why didn’t you say anything?”

“Because we were dealing with all of the curse bullshit, and the stamps and then the being able to touch Julie and everything.” Luke shrugged.

“Okay.” Alex nodded, looking like he was trying to tread carefully. “So how do you feel?”

“I don’t know.” Luke sighed. “It’s just when we were alive, I used to spend so much time wishing that they would get it, y’know? That they’d understand what I was telling them and that they’d support the band. Then I thought I’d settle for them to coming to see a show because at least they’d tried. But they never came.” He explained, feeling tears beginning to prick at his eyes. 

“Now they finally did but it’s too late. We’re dead and they can’t see me outside of those three-minute windows, and I can’t talk to them. It’s just a lot.” Luke added, wiping a stray tear with the back of his hand. 

He quickly found himself being pulled into Alex’s arms, and he gave in to it, burying his face in Alex’s chest. It felt so familiar and so safe that he just let himself cry for a while, knowing that Alex wouldn’t judge him for a second. 

They sat out there together until the sun started to rise, sharing stories they had of Luke’s parents. Like all the times that they’d pissed Emily off by breaking something she’d told them not to touch, or the expression on Mitch’s face when Luke announced one day that he wanted to be Freddie Mercury when he was older. 

Alongside the funny ones, there were also heartwarming stories. Like how supportive the Pattersons had been of their relationship. That there hadn’t been any of the judgement Alex received from his own parents. It had just been love and support. Emily had made sure Alex knew he could count on her as a maternal figure too, that he could go to her with any issues he might have needed a mother’s help with. That offer extended to Reggie too, once it became clear that the Peters were also a far from functional family.

Luke had come to realise that for all the arguments that went on between him and his parents, they all came from a place of love. All of their concerns had his wellbeing centred at the heart of them, they just wanted him to do well and to succeed. They just hadn’t been able to see him achieving that through being a high school drop out in a rock band. He knew he’d been too hasty to push them away, but even back then he didn’t know how to say sorry.

He was pulled from his thoughts by a question from Alex. 

“I said, do you think we should head back?” Alex repeated, apparently already completely aware of the fact that Luke had no idea what he had just said.

“Yeah, okay.” Luke nodded, taking one more look around. He reached out and squeezed Alex’s hand, a subtle thank you for sitting with him all night and helping him talk through his feelings. He felt Alex squeeze back, the two sharing one last glance before they poofed back to the studio.

-x-

After a couple of hours of sleep, Luke and Alex were sitting on the couch in the studio chatting about plans for the weekend. Luke had his back to the door so it was Alex who saw the Pattersons walk in first. Before he could say anything, Reggie poofed into the middle of the room, also with his back to the door.

“Guys, you’ll never guess what.” Reggie grinned. Alex glared at him to try to shut him up, but Luke didn’t even bother looking around. “I just saw Carlos in the kitchen and he could see me. We’re visible to lifers now, like all the time! And he totally high fived me so they can touch us too, it’s not just Julie.” 

“Reggie.” Alex’s tone was firm and he nodded his head towards the door.

Reggie turned around to see what Alex was making such a fuss about, realising the second he saw who was standing behind him. “Oh hey Mr and Mrs P!” He grinned.

That certainly got Luke’s attention, his head snapping around instantly. 

“Luke?” His mom said tentatively, looking straight at him. That was new, and then what Reggie had said clicked in the place. Lifers could see them now, could touch them even.

“Mom?!” Luke’s voice broke under the weight of his emotion as he scrambled off the couch. He raced across the room as fast as his legs could carry him, barrelling into his mom’s open arms. It had never felt so good to be hugged by his mom, something he never thought he’d be thinking at age seventeen. 

It was just the two of them for a while before Luke felt his dad’s arms envelope both of them at once, just like he used to when they were little. It was the Patterson family, finally reunited after nearly twenty-six years.

“I love you so much mom, I’m so so sorry for running away and for shouting so much.” Luke babbled, his voice cracking as tears streamed down his cheeks. 

-x-

“No, we’re the ones who are sorry.” Emily replied softly, her own tears flowing freely as she gripped onto Luke for dear life. She had lost her boy once in this life, she wasn’t going to do it again. “We’re sorry we weren’t more open-minded about your music. We saw the show last night, you boys were incredible.” 

She had been so nervous all the way over here, trying to establish what she was going to say to Luke when she saw him again. If she saw him again. There was no guarantee that she would be able to see him, she certainly had no idea how this all worked. Or what ‘this’ even was. Was Luke really a hologram? Or some kind of vision? All she knew was she needed to find out.

Emily was glad that they still remembered where Bobby’s parents had lived, making it easy to find their way to the studio. Julie had said that she found Luke’s lyrics in the garage they used to practice in, so it made sense that it was the place they would be most likely to find Julie, and hopefully the boys.

“Are you ready?” Mitch had asked her as they arrived outside, holding her hand and squeezing it for support before they stepped inside - ready for whatever faced them on the other side.

It had been Alex who saw them first, he was sitting on a couch on the other side of the room. Luke was sitting next to him, he had his back to them but both Mitch and Emily would recognise that head of hair anywhere. Before they could say anything, Reggie appeared out of mid-air and started talking before eventually being cut off by Alex.

They both heard Reggie’s greeting but were too preoccupied to respond since Luke had finally turned to look at them. Finally, after all of their time apart and years of heartbreak, they were face to face with their son again. 

That had gotten them to where they were now, holding Luke in their arms with all three of them in tears. A quick glance up told Emily that it was actually all five of them in tears, as she caught Alex and then Reggie dabbing at their eyes.

“Alex Mercer, get over here now.” Emily smiled warmly, passing Luke to Mitch for the moment as she held out her arms for Alex to come in for a hug of his own. She wrapped her arms around the boy, feeling some of his tension melt away under her touch. “You too Reggie.” She added, opening one of her arms and gesturing for Reggie to join them.

“We really missed you boys.” Mitch admitted, affectionately rustling Luke’s hair as his son leaned against his shoulder. 

“Yes, more than you’ll ever understand.” Emily added, pulling Reggie and Alex back towards Mitch and Luke for a five-way group hug. 

The Patterson family really was back together again. 

**Author's Note:**

> Thank you so much for reading this far, I hope you enjoyed it as much as I enjoyed writing it.
> 
> Hopefully, you cried less than me too. If not then I'm sorry <3
> 
> If you wanted to find me on Tumblr then I'm @ursulawrites


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